Perspective

Summer training has proved to be challenging. Teaching, traveling, and participating in the fellowship of the word processor has eaten up my time and my energy. Spending all day in a classroom at UC Merced seems to be affecting my fluid intake. I just don't think that I am getting enough water for what I need. I'm spending quite a bit of mental energy writing. I have a five page paper due tomorrow, and I'm not sure that the two pages I've already composed are going in the right direction.

I took too many rest days this week. Or perhaps, I was wise to take them. I'll never really know for sure. My weekly mileage this week was only 18 miles. Eleven of those miles I ran this morning.

Disappointing.

My overalls goal was to increase my weekly miles because I felt like I ran too few miles for my marathon training. I wanted to make 30 mpw my new normal. I still do. I just find the heat to be a formidable opponent.

Instead of wallowing in the mire, I thought that I would see how many miles I ran last summer. I wanted a bit of perspective.

From June to this time in July last year, I ran a total of 21.87 miles.

During the same time period this year, I ran a total of 94.12 miles.

Clear progress.

I may not be hitting the 30 mpw that I want, but I am getting there.

Cross-Training: Rock Climbing

I've tried resistance training with little success in sticking to the program. Doing reps for the sake of doing reps was never enough motivation for me. It was all very abstract.

At least with running, I cover a concrete distance.

This is partially one reason why I loved rock climbing. Resistance training and covering a concrete distance! Progress is palpable! And like running you can sort of get in a zone and not realize how much you have ascended until you pause to look down/look back.

Here I am ascending a climb called Bake Sale; it earned this name because the rock just bakes in the sunshine and burns up your hands. I happened to take my rock climbing class on a Yosemite day that reached temps in the 90s. This is the sort of day most recreational rock climbers won't climb because the rock heats up to uncomfortable levels.

As rock climbing was new to me, I encountered struggles. As a runner, I should be no stranger to this. My instructor in trying to comfort me told me that climbing is like a hybrid of ballet and chess.

I'm comfortable with the idea of being a ballerina. I was even an adorable ballerina one Halloween in elementary school. But I lack the patience to be a decent chess player. I had to slow down and read the rock.

That is probably a metaphor for a lot in my life.

As a bonus: I aggravated/reinjured (maybe) my calf strain in my left calf. This does not dissuade me from future climbing opportunities!

Out with the Injury; In with the Heat

This makes a running parent so proud: my son sleeping in his 3K race shirt. We are thinking of training for a 5K in November. He is definitely in for the 3K having run two before, but someone the concept of 5K terrifies him.

I can relate. At one point running continuously for five minutes terrified me. But I'll help get him over his fears.

I let my little athlete sleep in while I went out cautiously and gingerly hoping to run without aggravating the calf strain that I labored so diligently to vanquish. I took off consciously thinking to myself to take it

easy,

easy,

easy.

I'm technically scheduled for intervals today, but I thought that would be a sure shot back to ruined calves. So, for once in my running life, I am being wise. So wise that I am doing doubles cutting my workout in half so as not to load too much onto my calves at one time. I have no idea if there is any science behind this, but it feels like the right thing to do.

This morning the temp was 70º when I started and 73º by the time that I finished. To any non-running members of my reading audience (I wonder if I have an audience at all), this doesn't sound bad. It is. It is about 20º warmer than I like it. I happily and comfortably wear shorts and a tank when it is in the 50s. I don't know if I am normal. I occasionally see other runners out in tons of layers, long pants, sweatshirts, etc when I am out in a tank and shorts. I may be the abnormal one, but then again--watch any race and see how people dress.

The high today is supposed to be 104º. I'm going to speculate that if I wait for the sun to go down, I may have "comfortable" temps in the 90s to run in tonight.

The good news is that this morning's run was without surprise or worry. I iced my calves afterward. Looking forward to battling the heat tonight. It is better than not running at all.

The Difficult Stretch

Today was the first day post-marathon that I didn't experience too much muscle soreness. I probably could have gone out for a very slow three miles to start to ease my body back into running mode.

But today was quite hot. I believe it hit the high 90s.

We are hitting the difficult stretch of the year: May through August. My mileage drops to abysmal levels during these months.

Consider what I am up against: the conclusion of the school year, vacations, heat, triple digit heat, stay at home motherhood, and the beginning of the school year. None of these are particularly conducive to running.

I'm toying with the idea of registering for the San Francisco Half Marathon at the end of July just to get me forced into a training mode to keep me running through those summer obstacles. But dropping the money on the race and the hotel room seems like a waste. Why does money need to be on the line for me to buckle down and train?

The summer struggle is reason #237 why I have a hard time identifying as a runner.